Power of social search + Google Image + fortuitous error?

echofon displayed for me a puzzle [RT] from toddtyrtle:

Anyone know what kind of plant/tree has this type of seed pod? - tweeted by andycaster via kwout

Curious whether I could track it down I wasn't having any luck with a variety of descriptive words, so I skipped to a guess and google image search. My guess was wrong, but luckily it caught an equally half-wrong? description at istockphoto.

BTW do *any* maples have similar seeds?

or is this a case of fortuitous error?
I'd say serendipitous if not for discovering Walpole's original meaning? 

After Maple the description included "London plane tree". On adding that to the search google brought up a similar query at arboristsite to which Sylvia had suggested a sycamore and linked Virginia Tech's Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation VTreeID Factsheet of American Sycamore.  Great database, with pictures of tree, leaf and seed. In this case, although it is difficult to tell because in andy's pic the seed is exploded, it still looks fluffier than the American, and more like the Arizona Sycamore I think.  Sadly the database itself doesn't seem to include description of seeds, so from it I can't learn how to describe seeds.

Back at Google Image Search I checked other images of London Plane and Sycamore seed photos - and I'm leaning towards Sycamore.

I was impressed with the power of social answer finding (?social search engine) allowed me by Flickr a few years ago, when I uploaded a photo called "what flower is this" and 17 months later (possibly after I added it to a group) was surprised to find an answer but andycaster had his answer in ... 35 minutes?